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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Thousands gathered along the Potomac River at Oronoco Bay Park on Saturday evening to celebrate Alexandria's 277th birthday — and a sudden downpour at the grand finale did nothing to dampen the mood.
The festivities kicked off at 6 p.m. with Mistress of Ceremonies Molette Green, an NBC4 Washington reporter, welcoming the crowd as the Decades Band warmed up the lawn. Dozens of city departments and offices — including the Fire Department, Police Department, Historic Alexandria and others — set up tents throughout the park, giving residents a chance to connect with the people and programs that keep the city running.
By the time Town Crier Benjamin Fiore Walker strode to the stage at 7:30 p.m., the park was packed with beach blankets, lawn chairs and families ready to celebrate. "We come to celebrate our love for Alexandria, which is perennial," Walker declared, capping his proclamation with the crowd-pleasing "Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!"
Mayor Alyia Gaskins framed the evening as more than a birthday party. With the nation's 250th anniversary just a week in the rearview mirror, she told the crowd Alexandria's story is anything but static. "Tonight at this party, we are actually celebrating all of you," Gaskins said, "because it's each of you and your stories, your ideas, your dreams that continue to make our city the welcoming, vibrant place that it is." She recognized the city's firefighters and first responders, teachers, artists, small business owners and entrepreneurs before turning the stage over to Poet Laureate Cristi Donoso.
Donoso's original poem, "The Story Inside," drew the crowd in with its meditation on freedom, struggle and community. "The words alone do not make freedom so, but the work, the struggle of many, then and now, who carry those blazing words inside them, refusing defeat," she read. She closed with a call to action as much about Alexandria's future as its past: "We love Alexandria, a story we must keep writing together for us and for all."
City Council members and officials distributed birthday cupcakes before the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra took the stage at 8:30 p.m. As the ceremonial cannons of the Presidential Salute Battery fired and fireworks lit up the Potomac around 9:15 p.m., the skies opened up. Rain swept across the park — but the crowd held their ground, faces turned skyward, cheering through it all.
Some shuffled for cover. Most didn't bother. It was, after all, Alexandria's birthday.
Editor's note: No photos of the rain and fireworks finale were captured due to the sudden downpour.
